Appleseed: Ex Machina

2008-Animated/Sci-Fi
(Japan)

If there was anything that is still constant with Sci-Fi and its constant work to advance the genre it would be Japan. Masamune Shirow alone makes up the solid 50% of believable Sci-Fi in Japan alone (thats a jab at all the stupid Giant Robot movies/series with high school chicks) With works like "Black Magic M66, Dominion Tank Police, and Land Lock" Appleseed would have gone the way of obscurity if it wasnt for the re-imagination of it in 2004 experimenting with 3d animation to adapt the world of Olympus. Sad to say the first film back in 1988 wasn't that good but played the themes of what it is to be truly free if you are stuck in a bigger cage, the "Re-Imagined" on in 2004 introduced the themes of what it is to be truly human. Both film dived heavily in those fields but came short in the sense of directing and pacing of the film, equating to both films being Average at best.

Synopsis:
Deunan Knute, a young female warrior, and Briareos, a veteran cyborg-soldier, are both partners and lovers. As members of E.S.W.A.T., the elite special forces serving Olympus, they are deployed whenever trouble strikes. During a mission involving several high-ranking E.U. officials held hostage by a group of unknown and heavily-armed cyborgs, Briareos is injured protecting Deunan from an ensuing blast. As a last ditch effort by an injured cyborg, E.S.W.A.T. assigns Deunan a new partner, a bioroid named Tereus. Largely based on Briareos' DNA, Tereus was designed as a prototype for a new kind of fighter bioroid. His appearance is very similar to the way Briareos looked before he became a cyborg. Deunan is not agreeable to the idea of having a new partner, but eventually befriends him.

All-in-All:
To say this film was a massive improvement of the first one (well actually both the 1988 and 2004 versions) is like saying getting bit in the groin has slight displeasure's. I enjoyed the masterful art and CGI work of this film where the characters really moved smoother, you get a feeling of weight and impact on fight scenes. But the real star of the movie is the City of Olympus. It looks like a real futuristic city complete with crowds and traffic. The story is interesting enough asking the viewers on what it is to be truly human if you are mostly machine and the dangers of a unified world system. The only grip i have would be the long drawn out story. The movie could have ended 20min earlier if the action scenes didn't go way overboard, don't get me wrong, i love the graphics and movement but it takes away from as opposed to enriching the films story.

Riko's Rating: B-